Ashley Tisdale Reveals ‘Key’ to 10-Year Marriage with Christopher French (Exclusive)

Marriage looks good on Ashley Tisdale and Christopher French.

The pair dated for eight months before getting engaged in 2013, and they tied the knot in September 2014. More than 10 years later, they share two daughters — Jupiter, 4, and Emerson, 10 months — and Tisdale is opening up about why their relationship remains successful.

“No matter what in life, things change,” Tisdale, who recently teamed up with CoComelon for the series’ Gotta Go Zone event in Los Angeles, tells PEOPLE. “I think the biggest thing is to always just try to stay on the same page throughout that.”

“Communication is key on everything. That’s a big one for us,” adds the Phineas and Ferb actress and CEO of the wellness brand Being Frenshe.

Tisdale and French also benefitted from living as a married couple for nearly six years before welcoming Jupiter in March 2021. “We definitely had a really good foundation of years to just learn about each other before having kids, which I think is so important because just kids change everything,” she says.

“One of the things I noticed is that it brings out the flaws more in each other, the flaws that you’ve always known about your person. You’re like, ‘Oh, it’s fine.’ But then when you have kids, it is, “Oh my God.” It bothers you more for some reason,” admits Tisdale.

The “He Said She Said” singer continues, “But then there’s some people I know that literally get married and have kids, and they’re really great, too. So, I don’t know. Everyone is different.”

Ultimately, Tisdale believes “timing is everything” for the success of a couple.

“The best thing is that me and Chris, I think, found each other at the right time,” she says.

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Tisdale recently celebrated her 40th birthday on Wednesday, July 2, and French took to Instagram for the occasion with a series of photos of his wife and kids alongside a sweet message.

“Happy Birthday to the most amazing, beautiful, kind, smart, sexy, talented woman in the world. It’s such an honor to walk beside you, and see your growth into such an incredible Mom. Thank you for being you, we love you always & all ways,” he wrote.